FG targets digital entrepreneurs via MIT-REAP

Hundreds of digital entrepreneurs will soon be spring up across the country, the Federal Government has said. The Federal Government has inaugurated an advisory committee to drive the Reaching Out Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP) which is promoted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim […]

Hundreds of digital entrepreneurs will soon be spring up across the country, the Federal Government has said.

The Federal Government has inaugurated an advisory committee to drive the Reaching Out Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP) which is promoted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami said this while inaugurating an advisory committee to drive the Reaching Out Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP) which is promoted by the MIT, in Abuja.

Pantami said the aim of REAP was to produce digital entrepreneurs who would in turn create jobs across Nigeria.

He said Nigeria joined many other countries to adopt REAP because it understands the importance of producing employers that employees.

Speaking on the importance of REAP, Dr Pantami said “as we know in Nigeria, we have a huge challenge at hand, that is the challenge of unemployment, students are graduating every day, many are being admitted into our universities but job vacancies are very limited, some graduated 15 years ago, and still they are in the labour market, some 10 years ago, and they are still on the labour market.

Explaining that MIT as an institution has a GDP of over $2 trillion because of the entrepreneurs it produces, the Minister said Nigeria as a country has not exceeded $450 billion as GDP.

He, however, expressed hope that if the REAP is implemented across the country, Nigeria would experience GDP boost from the digital economy.